Who uses online accommodation booking services?

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Originally Posted by Tote

Consumers will usually choose the option that is best for them and nothing much can change that force.

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spot on the money.
and australia is too suck in the past to take advantage of it.

I book directly with the motel. I generally get a $20 per night discount.

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Originally Posted by Tote

It's a similar argument with Taxi plate owners, at an individual level it's deeply unfair that someone who paid big dollars for a taxi plate now finds that they are worth substantially less than they were pre Uber, however at an industry level (in my experience ) Taxi services are unreliable and unpleasant and I have had some very nice Uber rides.

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I actually have quite a lot of experience in the old Taxi industry here in Melbourne. Plate owners back in the 70s and early to mid 80s bought plates for their super. Let's face it, driving a cab is a mug's game, but I got an easy ride for a while from a bloke who had worked hard and built up a little business with 4 plates. Took him 20 years. Then the rules changed, and any speculator could buy a plate here. The industry was destroyed, and then the Raywood dispatcher tech came along and killed what was left. There was no longer any incentive to be good at what you did. IMO, Uber is a breath of fresh air. It may not last, but the Taxi industry needed to wake up to itself. The service was appalling, there was no real way to identify a driver, drivers and/or passengers were ripped off. Uber takes all that away. Not all Uber rides work out, but the system works in the favour of those who mean to play fair. When it's early on Saturday morning and some drunk has just vomited his hot dog and most of his night's drink on the back seat, the Uber thing might seem a little attractive to a driver. It would have to me.

What Dick was saying is don't use those advertised websites to book your accommodation , they take income away from the hotel owners.

Just scroll down a little further in your search and contact the hotel owner direct.

Keep the money in your Aussie mates pockets , not that of international booking agencies , of which nearly all of them are.

If we listen to Dick, this country would be a lot more prosperous from a small business level, he's right.

I use them to look up accom & price then ring motel direct to make booking , that way I can ask qusetions that you cant ask a computer. Usually find the motel price is the same booking agent so motel is loosing or the motel is cheaper than the agent because they don't have to pay the agent fees.

Same as 1950Landy, although most of the hotels I book into I have been there before, so I just either call them or book on line using the hotel's website.

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Originally Posted by Tote

I use Uber because the cars are trackable, turn up, and the car does not smell like ass, another example of an outdated poor quality service whinging when disruption breaks their business model.

Regards,
Tote

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Each to his own mate ! , never had a real problem with Taxi,s . I would rather support and keep the bucks in Oz where posssible .

I am a free market anarchist

A functioning market need no judgement from anybody or government interventions. There is need and there comes the supply to meet those demands. If anybody can do the business better, please go ahead

It will only work if it's a win-win....

Cost for extra room $20
Retail price $150 nobody will use it
Argoda advitise it for $100
Commission (gouge) to host $50

Host gets one extra customer, cost $20 plus $50(gouge?) =$70
Profit =$100 -$70=$30

$30 profit or nothing.
Hmmnnnn

I was going to say that wotif.com was Australian but some research shows it was purchased by Expedia in 2014 for $US 657Million. The owner must be smiling......

Regards,
Tote